The year 2020, or MMXX anno domino, turned out to be a dream gone sour. The civil society, too, did not take much notice of its increasingly negative agenda. Interestingly, the year had been ushered in with big promises. The high hopes never materialised.

The city of gardens had already turned into that of dumping grounds because of some misunderstanding with the Turkish companies, Ozpak and Albayrak. As to why a foreign agency from a friendly country like Turkey, with known links with the then chief minister of the Punjab, should have been entrusted with the arduous task of handling our ‘dirty linen’ is a big question mark.

Several thousand containers were discarded and left to gather dust at Babu Sabu, says Shafiq (name changed), a driver with the Lahore Municipal Corporation (LMC). The only facility they provided was a series of trucks equipped with crushing machines, while all the manual work was carried out by our local/traditional labour who at the moment are availing their end-of-year holidays. That fog and smog accompanied with light drizzle might trigger some epidemics falls outside the purview of the city bosses.

The legal battle to stop the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT), won at the High Court level, had been sadly lost at the Supreme Court. This year the government gave the go-ahead to the highly subsidised mode of transport to weave through the ruins of the city. It did not reduce any traffic congestion and pollution levels as had been claimed. The ousted residents along the route still lament the paltry compensation they had been paid under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

A still bigger shock was to come. The Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project (RRUDP), which had been envisaged by the previous government and abandoned for not being feasible on social, environmental and economic points, was suddenly taken up again with great secrecy and announced with a dictator’s attitude. The Ravi Riverfront Authority (RRA) was created and galvanised with a kind of immunity never seen even during the Zia era. No part of the ordinance could be challenged in any court of law as if it were ‘holy scripture.’ Fabulous sums of money were set aside by this cash-starved country, all for a whimsical utopian fairytale.

The Indus Water Treaty, as brokered by the World Bank in 1960, ignored the environmental concerns. Flowing rivers are not stopped or diverted anywhere in the world. Pakistan thereby lost to India three rivers, namely, Ravi, Beas and Sutlaj. It took a few years for India to build dams and divert the waters of these rivers so that the implications of the treaty were not fully understood immediately.

The Ravi’s waters were pristine clear, till the mid-1970s, and its aquatic life flourished and it was a favourite picnic, boating and fishing spot. Later, the waters were prevented from flowing into it, and all kinds of industrial and domestic waste found its way into it with predictable consequences. Upon entering this side of the border, it was subjected to further abuse. All the sewerage from the various mushrooming housing societies and industry were dumped into it, killing any semblance of flora and fauna. It became a stinking water body.

The annual floods being no longer a regular threat, both the banks were encroached upon. Yet, India had the upper hand and could release the extra water into the channel, whenever it flooded. Despite these ground realities, the old idea was again taken up. A bunch of pseudo intellectuals, defying all principles of ecology, water chemistry and botany, thought they could purify the highly polluted stinking dead river. They had the bright idea of creating housing colonies to connect towns, villages and even industrial units and farm lands from the Indian border right up to Sheikhupura and beyond.

The chunks of private lands have been up for sale without even acquiring these under the ancient colonial laws. Already, the land mafia is busy conspiring and buying the settlements, agricultural lands that would displace entire communities that provided milk, meat, chicken, vegetables and fruits to the city of Lahore and smaller towns on its periphery. Where the milch cattle will find shelter and fodder after their exodus, has not been foreseen. There is already resentment developing among local circles, and they have issued press statements to the effect illustrating the figures of material losses.

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Much of the historical and cultural heritage was under a serious threat in the outgoing year. Plans to build restaurants with cooking facilities inside the Lahore Fort are being challenged by the Lahore Conservation Society (LCS). The shabby renovations being carried out over the various monuments are in bad taste and lack any regard for the Charter of Venice.

The good news is that a master plan for the city is being prepared to visualise the developments extending to the year 2050. Architects like Kamil Khan Mumtaz and Imrana Tiwana have been included in the team, which augurs well for the plan. It points to the need for the LCS to hold the long overdue elections, so that the new board of directors can meet more regularly and apprise the city lords of ground realities, through the press.

This year, the finest cinema in town, Plaza, was razed to the ground. The adjoining goldsmith building too is up for demolition while the civil society seems clueless. The Punjab Special Premises Act, 1985, is being flouted openly, and the list has not been updated. The Ghulam Rasool Trust building on The Mall is being nibbled away. Over its roofs, trees are being allowed to grow. Under the said Act, the government has the power to acquire this building. Its unique dome that fell down mysteriously has not been rebuilt. The only step taken by the trustees is putting up a banner that announces, “Jaggah dastyaab hai,” over the part of the building that was once rented by Ferozsons, also mysteriously gutted.

A master plan envisages and controls the shape of the city for the years to come, but equal importance has to be given to the character of its historic districts. Intra-city mode of traffic, garbage collection, control of air and water pollution and green cover are only some of the daunting tasks awaited. Rank commercialisation eating up or destroying peace of residential areas is the single most difficult thing problem to be tackled.

The Waris Road water tank, once a picturesque fishing spot, has been filled up. Despite being on the Evacuee Property Trust list, it is being eyed by land grabbers.

A good initiative was taken by the freshly revived Lahore Sangat, wherein commemorative plaques were placed at various buildings where historic events had taken place. Though, more research needs to be done in this regard, for greater accuracy in dates and locations. As pointed out by Naeem Dar, Lala Lajpat Rai was wounded in lathi charge near Do Moria Pul, and his house was near the Khazana Gate School. Pt K Santanam from Mysore, the owner of Lakshami Insurance Company, was one of his disciples.

Sadly, the Lakshami building now stands in ruins, with its grandiose entrance arch struggling to follow the plumb line. It had been demolished to build a high-rise hotel on the application of a very influential person who, as it turned out, never owned the property.

Its complex behind and Burma teak stairs were all demolished post-haste, even though it was listed as a protected heritage property. This scribe’s dissenting note fell on deaf ears in the Darbar Hall meeting.

(This dispatch is dedicated to the producer of the hit movie, Sultana Daku, who was evicted from the Lakshami building. He pointed out in a court that the claim was bogus, but it was too late by then)

The writer is a painter, a founding member of Lahore Conservation Society and Punjab Artists Association, and a former director of NCA Art Gallery. He can be reached at ajazart@brain.net.pk